Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) has once again dismissed the concerns of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) about its premium RedX plan. According to the telco, TRAI’s latest set of queries are bereft of a proper appreciation of the facts and material available with it.
The company, in its letter dated August 10, 2020, has urged the sector regulator to closely examine its periodic filings on the quality of service (QoS) parameters on the VIL network to objectively draw conclusions on its queries regarding RedX. It has also underlined that it is meeting TRAI’s mandated QoS norms for wireless data, including for 4G data. VIL has also told the regulator that it uses a specific mechanism under the global 3GPP standards governing 4G LTE networks to offer faster speeds and priority network access to RedX users.
Further, the telco has also rejected TRAI’s contention that the priority network feature can only be offered to users whose role is that of emergency responders during disaster-like situations, and that such features are available only under the multi-media priority services (MPS) – a separate category under 3GPP rules.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has told the TRAI that it had launched its premium platinum plan last month as the sector regulator had not voiced any concerns or raised any objections about a similar VIL offering, RedX, that has been in the market since November 2019.
Airtel in its latest response to the regulator, dated August 10, 2020, said that the platinum proposition is only an enhancement over the present offering and not a new service and that it is offering the plans in full compliance with TRAI’s existing regulations and licensing conditions.
Airtel has also backed VIL, asserting that higher speed-related access offerings were being made by operators in the US, Europe and Australia amongst others.
